Most Popular Websites & Apps [2022 Ranking]! Instagram Surpasses Twitter, Ranking 3rd! Increase in Senior Users

To find out which websites are accessed by the most users in 2022, we surveyed the number of visitors to each website using VALUES' online behavioral data and compiled a ranking (Figure 1).

The search engine "Google" ranked first, followed by "Amazon.co.jp" in second place and "Rakuten Ichiba (Marketplace)" in third place, with the top three websites ranking the same as in 2021.
“Twitter" came in fourth place, switching places with "Yahoo! News," compared to 2021.
Although the social media is often thought to be used with smartphone apps, "Twitter" also exceeded 103% year-on-year, indicating that the PC/browser version continues to be used frequently. It is thought that many people use Twitter as a means of gathering information during work hours.

Among the top 30 websites, "Jalan net" had the highest year-on-year increase. The "Prefectural Discount" and the "Nationwide Travel Support" program, discounts that encouraged travel, which launched in October, also helped boost the numbers, and amid the growing demand for travel, the website exhibited a strong 117% year-on-year increase in visitors. Although not ranked this time, "Rakuten Travel," in 32nd place, also saw a 125% year-on-year increase in visitors, with the major OTA (online travel agencies) websites seeing significant growth in the number of visitors.

Regarding smartphone apps, we surveyed the number of users who activated/opened apps from January to October 2022, and ranked the “frequently-used apps” (Figure 2).

In terms of apps, "LINE," "PayPay" and "Instagram" ranked first, second and third, respectively, a result that differed in 2021, when "LINE," "Twitter" and "Amazon Shopping" were ranked in the top three. The high growth rate of "Instagram" at 109.9% year-on-year is a significant change from the previous year, when the number of users of "Twitter" and "Instagram" were reversed.

For cashless payment apps, "PayPay" ranked second with a strong performance of approximately 111.8% year-on-year, "d Pay" ranked 14th (109.6% year-on-year), "Rakuten Pay" ranked 22nd (119.6% year-on-year), and "au PAY" ranked 28th (108.0% year-on-year). All telecom carrier-based apps showed continued user growth, with the number of users continuing to increase.

What is distinctive compared to 2021 is that MyNa Point (My Number Point), MyNa Portal (My Number Portal), and other My Number Card-related apps also ranked. With the launch of the second phase of MyNa Point, it is apparent that the usage of the My Number Card is spreading.

The number of visitors to the website was also disaggregated by age group. Figure 3 shows the rankings for visitors in their 20s, 40s, and 60s and older.

Although the top three websites are the same for all generations, the top three websites for those in their 60s are "Rakuten Ichiba (Marketplace)" and "Amazon.co.jp," with the e-commerce websites performing well. This is a different result from the other two generations, where the number of "Amazon.co.jp" users exceeded that of "Rakuten Ichiba."

For people in their 20s, Google Search remains the top purpose for using the browser since 2021, and it can be seen that search is useful even in modern times when information-gathering on social media has become mainstream.

The number of app users was also disaggregated by age group to compile rankings for those in their 20s, 40s, and 60s and older (Figure 4).

A comparison of the number of Twitter and Instagram users across the three age groups shows that while there are slightly more Twitter users among those in their 20s, there are more Instagram users among those in their 40s and 60s. The year-on-year growth of Instagram was particularly strong among those in their 60s (137.1%), indicating that it has become the representative social media used among seniors. Twitter and Instagram were the second and third most used social media among people in their 20s, respectively, indicating the high rate of use of social media used among the younger generation.

Of the top 20 apps, TVer, ranked 19th, had the highest year-on-year growth among users in their 20s. It did not rank in 2021. With young people are watching TV less and less and many not even having a TV at home, it is clear that TVer's service, which allows users to watch their favorite programs whenever they want on their smartphones, is attracting more attention from users in their 20s.

With major social media releasing "short-form video" features, and with the growing awareness and interest in TikTok, will we see TikTok ranked in this list next year? We are looking forward to the trends in 2023.

[Survey and Analysis Summary]

We surveyed online activity from January to October 2022 with the cooperation of VALUES consumer panel (men and women ages 20 and older) nationwide.
*The number of website users of the online population in Japan was estimated based on accesses from PCs and smartphones and the rate of occurrence among the consumer panel owned by VALUES. The website "categories" are defined and allocated by VALUES.
*The number of app users of the online population in Japan was estimated based on the number of apps activated/opened on Android smartphones and the rate of occurrence among the consumer panel owned by VALUES. Obtained from Google Play's app categories. Pre-installed apps such as Email, Google Chrome, YouTube, Google Maps, and Gmail are excluded.